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Dingdong Dantes's new role as a tech entrepreneur would not have happened if not for a particular incident that took place two years ago.

In 2019, Dingdong's wife, fellow Kapuso star Marian Rivera, needed help in delivering flowers for her shop, Flora Vida.

Dingdong volunteered to do the delivery himself, sparking the idea of putting up a delivery service to compete with the existing players in the marketplace.

The concept eventually grew to include an e-commerce platform and technology solutions as a means to help business owners, particularly small and medium enterprises, and customers to connect more.

Dingdong, even back then, projected that delivery services and e-commerce businesses will continue to flourish as people start to rely more and more on the internet.

Last year's COVID-19 pandemic accelerated all that.

And as businesses shut down due to the weight of the pandemic, Dingdong saw the need to step in to help entrepreneurs keep afloat during these difficult times.

He also liked the thought of being able to provide a livelihood to people by hiring them as delivery riders.

In fact, most of the riders initially working for the business during its development stages were displaced workers from the entertainment industry.

That germ of an idea is now a full-fledged startup company aptly named Dingdong under Doorbell Technologies, Inc.

With that, the 40-year-old actor-model is now officially an entrepreneur in the exciting yet competitive tech and service industry.

Marian's influence

Dingdong, however, deflected all credit and cited his co-founders, partner merchants, people who tirelessly worked on the platform, and the delivery riders as the real driving force behind the venture.

He also gave props to Marian for inspiring the business, calling his wife the “real entrepreneur” between the two of them.

“Siya talaga ang magaling sa pagtitipid, sa pagse-save, and in fact, I get so many entrepreneurial tips from her. Bilib na bilib ako sa kanyang entrepreneurial skills,” Dingdong told GMANetwork.com during a video chat announcing the launch of Dingdong.

“At hindi lang sa skills na 'yon. Alam mo 'yon, kung paano niya dalhin ang kanyang sarili sa Instagram, paano niya ibenta ang kanyang mga produkto, bilib na bilib ako sa kanya.

“I must say na malaki ang inspirasyong naidulot niya sa akin kung ba't naitayo ang Dingdong platform at hanggang ngayon nandyan siya para suportahan ako.”

Marian, according to Dingdong, has always been an ardent albeit quiet supporter of his various endeavors whether in showbiz, business, and philanthropy.

Dingdong though has a favorite among many of Marian's sweet gestures to show her support, something that never fails to get him every single time.

“Very supportive siya and pinapakita niya 'yon sa pamamagitan ng pagluluto niya. Alam mo minsan may kanya-kanyang ways of showing your love and I appreciate that very much.

“Siguro kung para sa kanya ginagawa niya lang 'yon araw-araw. Pero para sa akin, isang bagay 'yon na talagang pinagpapasalamat ko.

“Hindi naman dahil sa meron siyang hinain na masarap sa akin, but it's the fact na meron lang siyang ibigay sa akin para siguro mabusog ako, sumaya ako.”

Dingdong smilingly shared, “Parang kaninang umaga, ginawan niya ko ng breakfast, e hindi naman ako nagbe-breakfast.

“Pero sabi niya sa 'kin kailangan mo 'yan kasi kasi kailangan may laman ang tiyan mo [before the press conference].

“Sabi ko, wow, bukod sa masarap 'yong hinanda, actually kiss mo lang okay na, pero may ganito pa, thank you!'”

He added, “But seriously malaking bagay at malaking bahagi siya ng inspirasyon kung bakit nagsimula ito [Dingdong platform].”

The couple's two kids, Zia and Ziggy, are also huge inspirations as to why Dingdong is pursuing this new project.

“Lahat naman ng ginagawa ko sa mundong ito ay para sa kanila na, e,” said Dingdong.

“Nung solo ako, nung wala akong asawa, ok fine, for me and just myself, and my immediate family.

“Pero ngayon, life is no longer just about me. It's about the lives of other people, my kids, my wife, 'yong future nila.”

Meanwhile, take a look at the sweet and fun photos of Dingdong and his family during their quick getaway in February this year: